Turkey seeks arrest of owner, 3 staff of opposition daily

ANKARA: Turkish authorities issued arrest warrants on Friday for the owner and three employees of opposition daily Sozcu, state media reported, as the crackdown on opposition media widened. The owner, Burak Akbay, and the three others, including the executive in charge of the website, Mediha Olgun, are accused of links to the movement led by Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen blamed for last year’s failed coup, Anadolu news agency reported. The fiercely anti-government and ultra-secularist daily whose name means “spokesman” is one of the country’s bestselling papers. Its slogan is: “If #Sozcu is silent, Turkey will be silent.” Istanbul prosecutors issued the warrants for the four including correspondent Gokmen Ulu and Yonca Kaleli, a finance executive, CNN Turk broadcaster said. Anadolu said Olgun had been detained and Akbay was out of the country. However, Sozcu’s lawyer Ismail Yilmaz denied arrest warrants had been issued, telling the private Dogan news agency warrants had been issued to seize and search their belongings.